Local runner has Rhodes to conquer

NewsDec 07, 2012Waterloo Region Record

By his own admission Roger Bannister’s greatest achievement had more to do with his work as a neurologist than that side project of his, cracking the four-minute mile as a full-time medical student and sometimes runner in 1954.

But maybe the now 83-year-old Englishman can also take pride in the other student-athletes he’s inspired to follow in his footsteps.

Waterloo’s Sarah McCuaig, an honours student in microbiology and immunology, and a captain of McGill University’s track and cross-country running teams, will have just that opportunity.

McCuaig, one of 11 Canadians to win a Rhodes Scholarship this year, is destined for the University of Oxford in England where she will study toward a PhD in immunology.

And like Bannister, she will measure her accomplishments not in the field of athletics, but in the field of medical research.

Yet, one of the 22-year-old’s goals was to dash around the same oval at Oxford where Bannister became the first runner to eclipse the four-minute mile, a feat once called the greatest athletic achievement of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated.

“People tell me Roger Bannister is still living in Oxford and you can sometimes run into him buying his groceries,” said McCuaig, who carried a flashy 98 per cent average during her days at Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School.

Bannister is such an enduring inspiration to McCuaig, he was on her imaginary dinner-guest list requested by the Rhodes selection committee at her final interview.

McCuaig said she thought her trite, spur-of-the-moment guest list (which also included Albert Einstein and her now deceased great-grandfather) might’ve put off the committee.

The interview had gone so badly — in her opinion — upon her return to her Montreal home, she set out for a 12-kilometre run to clear her head.

“I thought there was no possible way,” she said. “I should start looking at other schools.”

McCuaig has exceeded expectations, mostly her own, for a while now.

As a 16-year-old aspiring scientist, she taught herself microbiology so she could grow bacteria in her bedroom to demonstrate how antibacterial toothpaste can harm helpful bacteria in the human gut.

That “silly” Grade 10 science project, as she called it, won her a medal at a national science fair.

Also during her high school days, she served as co-prime minister, played for SJAM’s basketball team and ran track.

Her $10,000 entrance scholarship to McGill led to a long list of academic accomplishments, including her continued presence on the dean’s honour list.

On the track, she is a Canadian university bronze medallist in the 4x800-metre relay, a three-time Quebec university cross-country running champ and was twice honoured as the conference’s athlete who best combines academics, athletics and community service.

McCuaig also volunteers at a Montreal hospital’s neonatal unit and with McGill’s student athletic council.

“She never misses practice, has been our team captain and is always so helpful to everyone around here,” Dennis Barrett, McGill’s track and cross-country coach, said in a news release.

The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s oldest and most prestigious academic fellowship.

Established in 1902, the scholarship rewards students with exemplary academic standing, citizenship and leadership potential. It’s valued at about $20,000 US for each of two years of study, with an option for renewal in the third year.

Past Rhodes Scholars include former U.S. president Bill Clinton, astronomer Edwin Hubble, hall of fame basketball player Bill Bradley, former Governor General Roland Michener and songwriter/actor Kris Kristofferson.

“I feel so fortunate to find things in my life that I am so passionate about,” said McCuaig, who is currently studying respiratory diseases.

“I’m not the type of person to follow a recipe (for success). I just find things I’m interested in,” added McCuaig, the eldest of three siblings.

McCuaig’s mom, Kris, is a teacher at Laurelwood Public School in Waterloo. Her dad, Jeff, is the chief financial officer for a yarn manufacturer in Listowel.

Local runner has Rhodes to conquer

NewsDec 07, 2012Waterloo Region Record

By his own admission Roger Bannister’s greatest achievement had more to do with his work as a neurologist than that side project of his, cracking the four-minute mile as a full-time medical student and sometimes runner in 1954.

But maybe the now 83-year-old Englishman can also take pride in the other student-athletes he’s inspired to follow in his footsteps.

Waterloo’s Sarah McCuaig, an honours student in microbiology and immunology, and a captain of McGill University’s track and cross-country running teams, will have just that opportunity.

McCuaig, one of 11 Canadians to win a Rhodes Scholarship this year, is destined for the University of Oxford in England where she will study toward a PhD in immunology.

And like Bannister, she will measure her accomplishments not in the field of athletics, but in the field of medical research.

Yet, one of the 22-year-old’s goals was to dash around the same oval at Oxford where Bannister became the first runner to eclipse the four-minute mile, a feat once called the greatest athletic achievement of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated.

“People tell me Roger Bannister is still living in Oxford and you can sometimes run into him buying his groceries,” said McCuaig, who carried a flashy 98 per cent average during her days at Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School.

Bannister is such an enduring inspiration to McCuaig, he was on her imaginary dinner-guest list requested by the Rhodes selection committee at her final interview.

McCuaig said she thought her trite, spur-of-the-moment guest list (which also included Albert Einstein and her now deceased great-grandfather) might’ve put off the committee.

The interview had gone so badly — in her opinion — upon her return to her Montreal home, she set out for a 12-kilometre run to clear her head.

“I thought there was no possible way,” she said. “I should start looking at other schools.”

McCuaig has exceeded expectations, mostly her own, for a while now.

As a 16-year-old aspiring scientist, she taught herself microbiology so she could grow bacteria in her bedroom to demonstrate how antibacterial toothpaste can harm helpful bacteria in the human gut.

That “silly” Grade 10 science project, as she called it, won her a medal at a national science fair.

Also during her high school days, she served as co-prime minister, played for SJAM’s basketball team and ran track.

Her $10,000 entrance scholarship to McGill led to a long list of academic accomplishments, including her continued presence on the dean’s honour list.

On the track, she is a Canadian university bronze medallist in the 4x800-metre relay, a three-time Quebec university cross-country running champ and was twice honoured as the conference’s athlete who best combines academics, athletics and community service.

McCuaig also volunteers at a Montreal hospital’s neonatal unit and with McGill’s student athletic council.

“She never misses practice, has been our team captain and is always so helpful to everyone around here,” Dennis Barrett, McGill’s track and cross-country coach, said in a news release.

The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s oldest and most prestigious academic fellowship.

Established in 1902, the scholarship rewards students with exemplary academic standing, citizenship and leadership potential. It’s valued at about $20,000 US for each of two years of study, with an option for renewal in the third year.

Past Rhodes Scholars include former U.S. president Bill Clinton, astronomer Edwin Hubble, hall of fame basketball player Bill Bradley, former Governor General Roland Michener and songwriter/actor Kris Kristofferson.

“I feel so fortunate to find things in my life that I am so passionate about,” said McCuaig, who is currently studying respiratory diseases.

“I’m not the type of person to follow a recipe (for success). I just find things I’m interested in,” added McCuaig, the eldest of three siblings.

McCuaig’s mom, Kris, is a teacher at Laurelwood Public School in Waterloo. Her dad, Jeff, is the chief financial officer for a yarn manufacturer in Listowel.

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Local runner has Rhodes to conquer

NewsDec 07, 2012Waterloo Region Record

By his own admission Roger Bannister’s greatest achievement had more to do with his work as a neurologist than that side project of his, cracking the four-minute mile as a full-time medical student and sometimes runner in 1954.

But maybe the now 83-year-old Englishman can also take pride in the other student-athletes he’s inspired to follow in his footsteps.

Waterloo’s Sarah McCuaig, an honours student in microbiology and immunology, and a captain of McGill University’s track and cross-country running teams, will have just that opportunity.

McCuaig, one of 11 Canadians to win a Rhodes Scholarship this year, is destined for the University of Oxford in England where she will study toward a PhD in immunology.

And like Bannister, she will measure her accomplishments not in the field of athletics, but in the field of medical research.

Yet, one of the 22-year-old’s goals was to dash around the same oval at Oxford where Bannister became the first runner to eclipse the four-minute mile, a feat once called the greatest athletic achievement of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated.

“People tell me Roger Bannister is still living in Oxford and you can sometimes run into him buying his groceries,” said McCuaig, who carried a flashy 98 per cent average during her days at Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School.

Bannister is such an enduring inspiration to McCuaig, he was on her imaginary dinner-guest list requested by the Rhodes selection committee at her final interview.

McCuaig said she thought her trite, spur-of-the-moment guest list (which also included Albert Einstein and her now deceased great-grandfather) might’ve put off the committee.

The interview had gone so badly — in her opinion — upon her return to her Montreal home, she set out for a 12-kilometre run to clear her head.

“I thought there was no possible way,” she said. “I should start looking at other schools.”

McCuaig has exceeded expectations, mostly her own, for a while now.

As a 16-year-old aspiring scientist, she taught herself microbiology so she could grow bacteria in her bedroom to demonstrate how antibacterial toothpaste can harm helpful bacteria in the human gut.

That “silly” Grade 10 science project, as she called it, won her a medal at a national science fair.

Also during her high school days, she served as co-prime minister, played for SJAM’s basketball team and ran track.

Her $10,000 entrance scholarship to McGill led to a long list of academic accomplishments, including her continued presence on the dean’s honour list.

On the track, she is a Canadian university bronze medallist in the 4x800-metre relay, a three-time Quebec university cross-country running champ and was twice honoured as the conference’s athlete who best combines academics, athletics and community service.

McCuaig also volunteers at a Montreal hospital’s neonatal unit and with McGill’s student athletic council.

“She never misses practice, has been our team captain and is always so helpful to everyone around here,” Dennis Barrett, McGill’s track and cross-country coach, said in a news release.

The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s oldest and most prestigious academic fellowship.

Established in 1902, the scholarship rewards students with exemplary academic standing, citizenship and leadership potential. It’s valued at about $20,000 US for each of two years of study, with an option for renewal in the third year.

Past Rhodes Scholars include former U.S. president Bill Clinton, astronomer Edwin Hubble, hall of fame basketball player Bill Bradley, former Governor General Roland Michener and songwriter/actor Kris Kristofferson.

“I feel so fortunate to find things in my life that I am so passionate about,” said McCuaig, who is currently studying respiratory diseases.

“I’m not the type of person to follow a recipe (for success). I just find things I’m interested in,” added McCuaig, the eldest of three siblings.

McCuaig’s mom, Kris, is a teacher at Laurelwood Public School in Waterloo. Her dad, Jeff, is the chief financial officer for a yarn manufacturer in Listowel.